Morgana Le Fay: Seraph Slayers
by R. Hubbard
Summary: The unforeseen arrival of the Unseelie Court forces Queen Lexine, ruler of planet Aysel, and her newborn daughter Midori to flee to the Earth. This stretches the Unseelie Courts' hunt into the Kingdom of the Earth, ruled by Endymion and Serenity...
1. Seraph Slayers: Chapter 1

Seraph Slayers 1  
  
Lexine took three steps back, her footsteps making faint sounds through the nearly empty banquet room. Now she was positioned about two feet away from the largest and most beautifully decorated dinner table she'd ever had to prepare. She checked the candles to see if they were straight, stepped back up to rearrange the big flask of wine at the center, then regained her steps back again and smiled. Everything was in perfect order for her new daughter. With an uncertain twitch of her lips, she placed her index finger on her chin and thought aloud, "Should I leave the cherry blossoms near the pudding, or would they look better on each side of the turkey?" "They would each look marvelous beside the turkey," Lexine, somewhat surprised, wasn't expecting such an immediate response. She turned in a way that made her silk white dress wrap closely around her legs. "Well good afternoon Carina," Lexine told the black-haired young girl. Happy to have received an answer, Carina smiled back and curtseyed in her shabby olive green dress, "And to you also Queen. It's nice to see the banquet at least half alive, since your husband was killed. Even if it'll only be for a little while." Lexine looked at her dark brown eyes, her smile slowly fading away as she moved her sad stare down to her folded hands, "Yeah."  
  
"Queen." Carina began, feeling the sadness in Lexine's heart. Lexine smiled unexpectedly and stepped closer towards Carina until she could hold her hands, "What are you talking about, only for a little while? Now that Midori is born, this place will be alive again! I promise you." "But I'm scared for you, Queen. Loneliness is such a hard thing to go through and. If you don't mind me asking, how long has it been?" "Now that you brought it up, I'd estimate it's been a good five months a- and-" Her lips began to tremble and she tried hard to restrain the tears itching to escape. Carina watched painfully as Lexine wiped away underneath her eyes, sniffled twice, and tried to regain her happy face. "And I'm not doing so horribly as single Queen though I feel bad that- that-" She burst into tears, flinging her arms around a very shocked Carina. "Queen!" Carina exclaimed once Lexine turned away from her and sobbed into her hands.  
  
"Oh, um, sorry," Lexine shook her head, embarrassed. Carina placed a soothing hand on her left shoulder, but Lexine rejected it and broke into a run through the tall white doors to the far right of the banquet table. The doors slammed loudly. Carina felt the table beside her shudder, so she quickly placed her hands firmly on it, trying to keep it from shaking. Skimming over it, she spotted the cherry blossoms and sighed, then rearranged them each alongside the empty turkey dish.  
  
Later that night, Queen Lexine sat on the edge of her king sized bed, running a silver comb through her blonde and curly locks. ".and you still can't find her anywhere? God, she isn't in the garden." A small, gentle voice was heard outside. Lexine continued brushing her shiny curls even after a child-like fairy slammed through the doors, took one very surprised look at Lexine and exclaimed, "Queen! I - I've had the palace guards look for you everywhere! We were all so worried- aren't you coming down to the banquet?" "Merle." Lexine began softly once the fairy began floating her way and sat by her on the bed. "And Vivian has also been calling for you! Did you know that King Nicholas, you know the one from planet Barlaam, was coming? Goodness he's so handsome! Imagine that, only nine years old and he's already King! I think you should set up something between him and Midori, you know? I know I would-" "MERLE!" Lexine hollered. Shocked and slightly offended, Merle hushed instantly and stared at her with wide eyes and a matching mouth. "I'm sorry Merle but," Lexine cleared her throat, "I strongly suggest you leave my daughters future to me, okay?" Merle gave her a stiff nod, still staring with wild eyes, and watching even more stiffly while Lexine tucked her silver comb into a drawer on her white dresser, then calmly made her way down to the banquet room in a gorgeous, shimmering, pasty white ball gown.  
  
Lexine struggled with her tears as she walked down the corridor that led her down a beautiful staircase. Walking past elegant furniture and small decorations of white roses and marble statues, she stopped briefly before stepping into the banquet room. Already she could feel and hear the music playing in violins, cellos, pianos, and occasional chimes. She knew better than to enter looking like she was about to burst with happiness through her tears, so she lingered a few minutes while drying her eyes on her thin, translucent sleeves. Finally, she tidied up her hair so that it swayed as she walked against her ears and down her back, then opened the white doors and stepped inside.  
  
"Queen Lexine, you're looking beautiful tonight!" "Lexine my dear, I cannot believe how well you managed to decorate this place! It's marvelous!" "The turkey! It's splendid! Did your cook prepare it, or was it you, Lexine?" Lexine smiled and bowed her head as she glided past all the guests. She walked up to a high throne that looked over the entire banquet table and sat down, everyone looking at her with a smile, "My daughter Midori will be ready in a few minutes. Make yourselves comfortable. The turkey was prepared by none other than myself," Applause was heard as Queen Lexine smiled and continued, "so just sit back, relax, and enjoy tonight!" 


	2. Seraph Slayers: Chapter 2

"Carina! Don't give her that! What if she chokes?" Merle exclaimed. Carina placed baby Midori gently on Queen Lexine's bed, making cooing sounds and tickling her on the sides of her stomach. "She's such an angel," Carina sighed. Midori seemed to understand. Her emerald green eyes lit up and she gave a heart-warming giggle. "Awwww, how adorable!" Carina squealed. "Pathetic." Merle groaned, floating over from a tub of hot water on Lexine's dresser, holding a wet cloth in her hands. "Here, let me through. I told you to get this away from her!" In one hand, Merle held the cloth while she angrily snatched a very thin, golden necklace from Midori's hands, which were covered in saliva and had just been received from her mouth. "Hold." Merle insisted, handing over the necklace to Carina, disgust written all over her tiny face. "It just needs some cleaning up," Carina began wiping the necklace against her sleeve when children's shouting came from outside, then at last burst through the door. "Take that!" "Ha! Missed me, now you gotta kiss me!" "Ewww, don't be such a moron Logan!" "Jab! Got you again!" "Did not!" "Betcha I did. and again! Score! I win!" "DO NOT!"  
  
"NICHOLAS!" Merle screamed, her black eyes big as moons. She floated up and glared very menacingly at the taller boy, who was actually younger than the second one. Nicholas gave a scowl and lowered his father's dagger before facing Merle, "What? I'm busy. We're busy!" He stated firmly, glancing over at the other boy with fair skin and slightly spiky, dirty-brown colored hair, hazel eyes, and a shorter appearance. "And Carina and I are also busy! So if you two will excuse us." Merle turned Nicholas by his shoulders and began to lead them out. "Can we see her?" "What? Who?" Merle stopped and watched Logan turn around. "Midori, can we see Midori?" He asked. Nicholas looked at him, perplexed. "I guess it would be alright. Carina, is she ready?" Merle drifted around.  
  
Carina turned from Queen Lexine's bed, holding in her arms the tiniest, most innocent looking baby girl. Midori was dressed in a tiny, white, frilly dress with two of the smallest yellow daisies planted in her soft, fawn-colored hair. Nicholas crinkled his nose, "She smells funny," "It's only perfume." Logan answered, and received the baby in his arms. "Careful," Carina almost whispered. Logan smiled down at the baby, who in return gave a touching chuckle, "She's beautiful," Logan must have not heard himself think aloud, since Carina's soft "Yes, she is beautiful," made him blush and look up sheepishly.  
  
"I bet you and her will grow close once she's older. Don't you?" Carina noticed the blush in his cheeks and winked at him, making him smile with uncertainty and slight embarrassment. "Can we go now?" Nicholas yawned in the background. The door opened and a dark-skinned woman with long, black hair in a single braid entered, looked at Merle, and nodded, "If Midori is ready, they are waiting,"  
  
"Oh, yes, we'll be there in a moment." Merle answered, and the woman gave a slight bow, turning and closing the door behind her. "Hold this, Logan." Logan looked up from tickling under Midori's chubby chin and opened his hand to receive Midori's necklace. "What, what is it? How come it has this symbol?" He asked, studying the golden chain, but more the glittering, golden circle that held in its middle an embossed outline of an archer's arrow. Carina came around Merle, holding Midori's blankets, shrugging, "Who knows? All we do know is that we can't keep Midori away from it." Logan furrowed his brow, and at that moment, Carina knew exactly what was being processed through his mind. She smiled, "That is, we can't keep her away from it, but with you, with you now it looks like she has completely forgotten about it. interesting," As Carina walked off, dazed and still smiling thoughtfully, Logan sighed and looked back down at Midori and was comforted to see that she had slumbered off peacefully. 


	3. Seraph Slayers: Chapter 3

More than three-hundred yards away, outside the castle walls, an amazing team of three dragons and almost fifteen winged horses hovered in a calm manner, completely oblivious to the entire planet below. The leader of the dragons erupted in malicious flaps of its black, reddish wings and bellows and snaps from its massive jaws. The two others, hovering some two feet behind it, also joined, as well as neighing and low grunts from the silverish, black winged horses behind the trio.  
  
"Now would be a good time." One of the dragon's riders said. "Don't be stupid, Indira. I can't even see the entrance from here." Morgana replied. Indira turned and looked at the lead dragon and its rider, smiling cunningly, " I assure you, it is there. You should know that creatures of my type have excellent eyesight. All I have to do is attack the window situated in front of baby Midori's sleep chamber, and then, we have the entire planet at our feet!" "She's right, Queen!" Lamya, a middle aged woman, with a fourth of her hair dyed in white and the remaining parts in pure black, smiled too. "It's just that simple. We all know that Lexine's weakness is her prized possession: her only daughter, Midori. And since she's no more than a mere baby, it's almost too easy!"  
  
Morgana's face stiffened, turning her view towards the marvelously shimmering castle in the distance. It looked almost too beautiful to attack. She let out a fast sigh and turned her head promptly towards Indira, "Alright then, on with your plan. I'd love to see your skills, since surely I didn't assign you as my first General for nothing." Morgana's reply slightly made Indira irate, but she kept her tongue, pressed down lightly on the hard skin of her dragon, and rocketed away almost noiselessly.  
  
The planets' nightly winds were refreshingly crisp and gentle, Indira took note of, as she rode upon her dragon, unseen above the clouds, surveying the healthy and quite prosperous land underneath. Her dragon took fastidious, long swoops under and over the clouds until nearly arriving at the farthest, West side of the castle. She patted the dragon's neck with both hands, and when it gave a grunt of acknowledgement, it made a final swoop downwards, until it was leveled with the first lit window at the very top of the castle, and sped up. Indira's eyes widened with alacrity at the magnificent target spot she had chosen to present herself at. At this speed, she could no longer hear much except the solid, murmuring and swishy noise caused by the wind rushing past her. And finally, with a malevolent chuckle, she felt the dragon's body crash into the window, heard his horrifying scream and the sound of rupturing glass, and she jumped off. 


	4. Seraph Slayers: Chapter 4

Everyone, please, stay calm!" Queen Lexine's efforts to quiet down the startled guests were useless. The sound was unmistakably that of shattering glass, and the tremulous force that rocked the banquet room instantly struck up a storm of panic, even to the guards standing by the doorways. Another wave of intense tremor finally forced the terrified guests to evacuate without anyone's consent. Moving as a whole body, they made a frantic rush towards the exits, flinging aside the guards and some even trampling and pushing others out of the way. "Please! Everyone, stay calm so no one gets hurt!" Lexine rose her voice above the screams, hurrying down the steps. A third and final wave with five times as much force as the first two broke through the large, arched windows on the left side of the room.  
  
Lexine screamed, shielding her face from the soaring pieces of glass, as she fell to the ground along with most of the guests in a painful manner.  
  
"Lexine! Lexine." Someone called repeatedly. She kept looking into the crowd and was fascinated to see a striking white horse charging towards her, and on its back it carried the most stunning man Lexine had ever seen, and throughout all the chaos, she managed a smile. The horse stopped in little clomps briefly before her, as Wolfbane jumped off, then strode aside patiently.  
  
"The walls outside, they wont hold. There's nearly a whole fleet of them!" Lexine cupped her hands around his roughly shaven cheeks, luring him closer, "Them? A fleet of what?" Wolfbane pulled away impatiently, "With Morgana Le Fay's army, the Unseelie Court!" At this, Lexine gasped and she too pulled away from him as he hurriedly continued, "They've attacked some targeted place on the fourth floor-" "Midori!" Lexine burst out in tears, pushing him aside and racing through the wide-open doors. "Midori!" She screamed again while running up the staircase. From behind, Wolfbane was already chasing after her, shouting at her to return. Reaching the last floor, she didn't stop running, but only gained speed when she saw Logan race out of a room holding crying Midori in his arms. He ran rapidly down the hallway, but soon afterwards, as Lexine stumbled with fear, she saw one of Morgana's followers fly out of the same room and crash against the opposite wall, then regain her composure and fling herself at Logan's heels.  
  
"No! Midori!"  
  
"Logan go!" Merle stumbled into Lexine's view, seeing that she had dragged out with her an unconscious, near-death-looking Nicholas. As Lexine stood up sobbing, Wolfbane brushed past her, sending a quick, cold shiver against her shoulder. Wolfbane could see Indira close to Logan, ready to claw at him, and at that moment he burst forward, tackling the monster to the ground. Logan stopped and looked back with fright as he witnessed Wolfbane rolling around in his fur robes and leather leggings, struggling and swinging successful punches at the nearly defeated monster. 


	5. Seraph Slayers: Chapter 5

"Come on now! Damn it, run!" As Logan's eyes turned away from watching Wolfbane deliver a finally punch to Indira's head, he hardly felt Merle's small grasp clutch his arm and pull him away. He came out of his terrible trance, turned, and continued to run away down the hallway with Merle, as more explosions erupted from the lower and outer parts of the castle, but could still be felt faintly.  
  
"What's going on outside?!" Logan exclaimed. "Don't look back! Just run!" Merle shouted through another wave of explosions as they turned a corner and began to run down the south staircase, baby Midori's wails trailing behind them and down the stairs. For a while they ran through darkness. Logan nearly stumbled over a metal object that had been tossed aside carelessly. "Are you alright? Hurry!" Merle turned and tugged at his arm. "Wait," he whispered softly. He moved his left foot an inch to the left and almost instantly did it strike a warm, heavy mass. Straining his eyes, he forced himself to peer deeper into the dark, saw Merle's gray outline float across gently, and whimpered, "M-Merle." A low grumbling erupted a few steps away. Logan and Merle froze, but what was more terrifying was the hot air blowing out like breathes every few seconds, and finally its soft bellows became shattering screams.  
  
Logan turned to run seconds after the first scream but was stopped by Merle's grasp, "Don't.stay very quiet." she almost whispered. Logan turned, feeling the fear that had just flourished in the pit of his stomach. It was in his heart too, making it thump so fast it seemed like only time would help it leap from within Logan's chest and out his mouth. Seconds ticked by, and the slow, heavy breaths of hot carbon dioxide never ceased. Soon, he began to feel Merle pulling him back, but with such care and sluggishness he could scream. "But where will we go?" He whispered to her. "Never mind," she whispered back, "but it'll be the last of us if we continue," she said some time after his question. Luckily, Midori was mysteriously hushed by the commotion around her. Until now, Logan began to feel the pain coming from his throbbing finger, which he had not noticed that Midori had taken a hold of as a chew toy. He would of pulled it away, but he didn't dare do anything to make her cry again.  
  
"Just keep stepping back slowly," Merle said. Logan wanted to nod, but halfway into the nod, he stopped. The breaths were gone and had been replaced by heart-breaking sobs. "Oh-" Merle's hand disappeared from his arm. "Merle, don't go!" Logan cried out, feeling her flutter past him towards the sound. "But she's hurt, she needs help," "Merle, it' s dangerous!" Logan stepped forward and instantly, the torches on the sides of the walls burst into a grayish-black flame. He gasped, terrified, seeing the entire floor drenched in pools of blood trickling out from so many corpses of knights that had been guarding the outside palace. 


	6. Seraph Slayes: Chapter 6

Rushing forward, the scene was unreasonable. Merle had stopped responding to anything else, and was floating away in a daze, towards the area in the room torches had not been well lit. Suddenly she stopped, floated around, her eyes wide and white, and stopped there, hovering. "Merle!" He screamed. From that moment on, everything was in a fast, colorless blur to him. He felt himself running at her, holding Midori in his arms, each step faster than the last. Then suddenly, only five steps away from reaching her, the darkness in the background partially lit with that same gray glow illuminating the room behind him. Logan immediately froze and gasped. Its soft gray outline was hardly detectable as it crouched very still atop a pillar of enormous stones. Logan strained his eyes hard. It had the form of a person, but anything from the Unseelie Court was highly deceiving. It could have been dressed in black garments that covered from head to toe, and a thick black cape floated and moved about like a whiplash first from his left, then turned and whip lashed to its right.  
  
All it took was another prickly breathe for it to exhale and Merle's eyes regained life so fast, he sudden "Logan!" made him jump. "Logan!" Logan burst into a run. Somehow, he swung his arm around Merle's tiny body and burst forward at a swift speed. The monster screamed, evolving from its petrified form to a shadow of chaos. "Why are we running this way?! You should've gone the other way!" "No!" Logan sharply replied. Merle threw him a cross look, which he unintentionally missed, "There's a door, an open one, at the end of this. It'll lead us outside!" "How can you be sure? Wait, you've been in here before? You snuck in!" Merle was fuming uncontrollably. "Cast a spell, one that involves light. Bright light." Logan instructed her. "What for?" "Do it Merle!" Frowning, Merle clasped her hands together forcefully. In an instant, her hands opened, revealing an explosion of blinding white light. The creature charging at them screamed more intensely than before. "Ah!" Merle exclaimed in pain. "Don't release the light! Keep it up until we get out! It'll keep it from following us!" 


End file.
